Animals That Start With G: 25 Animals From Gazelle to Guinea Pig

Gazelle

Gazelles are slender, fast antelopes of Africa and Asia. Thomson’s gazelle of East Africa can reach about 80 km/h (50 mph) and zigzag sharply to escape cheetahs. When a predator is near, gazelles often “stot”, bouncing high into the air on stiff legs, a display that may tell the hunter they are fit and not worth chasing.

Gecko

Geckos are small lizards, with about 2,000 species in warm countries around the world. Many can climb smooth walls and even glass thanks to toe pads covered in millions of microscopic hairs that cling by weak molecular forces. Most geckos have no eyelids and lick their eyes clean, and unlike most lizards they chirp, click and bark to communicate.

Gerbil

Gerbils are small, long-tailed rodents of deserts and dry grasslands, with about 110 species in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. They have long hind legs for hopping and save water by producing very little urine. The Mongolian gerbil lives wild on the steppes of Mongolia and northern China, where it digs burrows and stores seeds for the winter.

Gharial

The gharial is a fish-eating crocodilian of the rivers of northern India and Nepal, with an extremely long, thin snout lined with about 110 sharp, interlocking teeth. Adult males grow a bulbous knob on the tip of the snout that looks like a clay pot called a ghara, which gives the animal its name. It is Critically Endangered, with only a few hundred adults left in the wild.

Giant panda

The giant panda lives only in the cool mountain forests of central China and eats almost nothing but bamboo, which makes up about 99% of its diet. An enlarged wrist bone works like an extra thumb, helping it grip bamboo stems. A national survey counted 1,864 wild pandas, and the species was moved from Endangered to Vulnerable in 2016; read are giant pandas still endangered? for the latest.

Giant squid

The giant squid lives in the deep ocean, possibly at 300–1,000 m (980–3,280 ft). Its body, or mantle, is about 2 m (6.6 ft) long, and its two long feeding tentacles can reach about 10 m (33 ft), but claims of 20 m (66 ft) animals have never been documented. It has some of the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. Japanese researchers took the first photographs of a living giant squid in its habitat in 2004.

Gibbon

Gibbons are small apes of the forests of South and Southeast Asia, with about 20 species. They are the fastest tree-dwelling mammals that cannot fly, swinging arm over arm between branches at up to 55 km/h (34 mph) and crossing gaps of up to 15 m (50 ft). Mated pairs sing loud duets at dawn. The Hainan gibbon of China, with only a few dozen animals left, is one of the rarest primates on Earth.

Gila monster

The Gila monster of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico is the only venomous lizard native to the United States. It grows up to about 56 cm (22 in) long, has beadlike pink, orange and black skin, and stores fat in its thick tail. It spends most of its life underground and is slow and shy, but any bite needs emergency medical help: call 911. It is listed as Near Threatened.

Giraffe

The giraffe of Africa’s savannas and open woodlands is the tallest animal on Earth, standing 4.3–5.7 m (14–19 ft) to the top of its head; see how tall is a giraffe? for more. Its neck has just seven bones, the same number as ours, but each one is very long. Researchers have proposed splitting giraffes into four species, and the IUCN lists the giraffe as Vulnerable.

Glass frog

Glass frogs are small, mostly lime-green frogs of the rainforests of Central and South America. The skin on their bellies is so transparent that the heart, liver and gut can be seen through it. When they sleep on a leaf during the day, most of their blood is hidden away in the liver, which makes them even harder for predators to spot.

Glowworm

“Glowworm” is a name for several glowing insects. In Europe, the common glow-worm is a beetle related to fireflies: the wingless female glows green on summer nights to attract the flying males. In New Zealand, the famous glowworms of the Waitomo Caves are the larvae of fungus gnats, which hang sticky silk threads from cave ceilings to catch insects drawn to their light.

Gnu

“Gnu” is another name for the wildebeest, a large African antelope; the word comes from the Khoikhoi people of southern Africa. More than a million blue wildebeest live in the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystem, where they make a huge circular migration each year, following the rains and fresh grass along with zebras and gazelles.

Goat

The goat was one of the first animals domesticated by people, in the mountains of Iran about 10,000 years ago, from the wild bezoar ibex. Its rectangular pupils give it a wide, panoramic view for spotting predators; read why do goats have rectangular pupils? to find out how they work. Wild relatives include the ibexes of the Alps and the markhor of Central Asia.

Golden eagle

The golden eagle is the most widespread eagle in the world, found across North America, Europe, Asia and North Africa. It is named for the golden-brown feathers on the back of its head and neck. It hunts mainly hares, rabbits, marmots and ground squirrels in open, hilly country, and it is the eagle shown on the coat of arms of Mexico.

Goldfish

The goldfish comes from China, where people began breeding colorful forms of a small carp more than 1,000 years ago, under the Song dynasty. Goldfish released into lakes and ponds can grow much larger than aquarium fish and harm native wildlife. The idea that goldfish have a three-second memory is a myth: experiments show they can learn tasks and remember them for months.

Goose

Geese are large waterfowl with long necks. The Canada goose of North America has been introduced to Britain and northern Europe, and the European graylag goose is the ancestor of most domestic geese. Migrating geese fly in V-shaped formations, which researchers think saves energy as each bird rides the air disturbed by the one in front. Pairs often stay together for many years.

Gopher

Pocket gophers are burrowing rodents of North and Central America, with about 41 species. They are named for their large, fur-lined cheek pouches, which open outside the mouth and are used to carry food back to their burrows. Gophers spend almost their entire lives underground, digging long tunnel systems with their strong front claws and big front teeth.

Gorilla

Gorillas are the largest living primates, weighing about 68–227 kg (150–500 lb) depending on species and sex. The western gorilla and the eastern gorilla live in the forests of Central Africa, and both are Critically Endangered. Gorillas eat mostly leaves, stems and fruit, and they live in family groups led by a mature male called a silverback, named for the silver hair on his back.

Goshawk

Goshawks are powerful, short-winged hawks built for hunting among trees, where they twist and turn at speed to catch birds and mammals such as pigeons, grouse, rabbits and squirrels. Females are much larger than males. Ornithologists now usually treat the Eurasian goshawk and the American goshawk as two separate species.

Grasshopper

Grasshoppers are plant-eating insects with powerful hind legs for jumping, and there are thousands of species. They hear with ears on the first segment of the abdomen, and many males sing by rubbing their hind legs against their wings. When crowded, some species change color and behavior and become locusts, forming swarms of millions that can strip crops over wide areas.

Gray wolf

The gray wolf is the largest wild member of the dog family, living across North America, Europe and Asia. Most packs are families made up of a breeding pair and their young from recent years. Wolves were wiped out from Yellowstone National Park in the early 1900s and reintroduced in 1995, and in Europe they have returned naturally to countries such as Germany and France.

Great white shark

The great white shark is one of the largest predatory fish, found in cool and temperate coastal seas around the world. Adults are usually about 3.4–4.9 m (11–16 ft) long, and the largest females reach about 6 m (20 ft). It is partly warm-blooded, which lets it stay active in cold water. Attacks on people are rare, and the species is listed as Vulnerable.

Grizzly bear

The grizzly is the North American form of the brown bear, recognized by the muscular hump on its shoulders, which powers its digging, and its silver-tipped, “grizzled” fur. Most grizzlies live in Alaska and western Canada, and in the lower 48 states they survive mainly around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. To learn how grizzlies relate to other brown bears, see is a grizzly a brown bear?.

Groundhog

The groundhog, or woodchuck, is a large ground squirrel of North America and one of the few true hibernators, with its heartbeat and body temperature dropping sharply through the winter. Every February 2, crowds gather in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to see whether Phil the groundhog sees his shadow; read is Groundhog Day accurate? to see how often the forecast is right.

Guinea pig

The guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor a pig. It is a rodent, domesticated in the Andes of South America as early as about 7,000 years ago, originally as a source of food, and it is still eaten in parts of Peru and Ecuador. Its wild relatives, the cavies, live in grasslands and mountains across South America.